"Limit Theory isn't just the name of the game. It's also the abbreviated name of a philosophy, which happens to be the philosophy that forms the back story for the game. The Theory of Nonexistence of Extrinsic Limitation, or Limit Theory for short, says that all limits, all things that oppose you, all challenges, are fundamentally located within your mind, and nowhere else. In other words, the only real limits are within yourself, not within the external world. This mentality directly implies that you can somehow overcome any limit simply by making the appropriate internal change.

To understand how radical of a theory it is, imagine applying it to a situation in your life. Let's say that you've got a corporate job that you're kind of lukewarm about, and that your dream job has always been to become a musician and travel around Europe on tour. Big dreams, but Limit Theory says that the only thing stopping you from doing so is yourself. It says that, if you feel that something external - your boss, financial situations, social obligation, etc - is the thing keeping you from doing so, then you are wrong. Limit Theory posits that a limit is, by definition, internal to your mind. Now, maybe it's true, maybe it's not. But the point is that the mentality, regardless of whether it's objectively correct, encourages one to take action. It encourages one to question whether anything is actually opposing progress towards a dream, or whether it's simply a mental unwillingness to take action.

So why does this theory matter? Well, it forms the back story of the LT universe. The explanation for why you have space ships, space stations, faster-than-light travel, etc. in LT is that you come from an extremely advanced civilization. How did they get to be so advanced? Simply put, they were the original founders of the Limit Theory philosophy, and the greatest proponents of it that the universe has ever seen. They were rabid idealists, believing firmly that all limitations were internal, and that, with enough mental fortitude, any problem would eventually yield to the mighty fist of intellect. And they were right. They terraformed planets that should have been living Hells into magnificent Edens. They produced hyperdrive engines that made the laws of physics bow before them. They sung their song of idealism from one corner of the galaxy to the other, using technology that should have been reserved for gods, not men. And they did so because they believed in the theory of nonexistence of extrinsic limitation.

So that's the backstory. But it goes even deeper than that, because, as you might have guessed already, Limit Theory isn't just the philosophy of the civilization in the game. It's my personal philosophy.

Let's apply it to a situation that comes a bit closer to home. Let's say that you're a 20-year-old college student, and you want to make a space simulation game with a massive scope. Perhaps other people will tell you that it's too much work for one person. But suppose that you believe in Limit Theory. Then you believe, regardless of what other people might say, that the only thing standing between you and the finished product is your mind. You believe that with enough hours of work, thought, code, research, etc...you can succeed.

Perhaps the ultimate, mind-bending irony of the whole thing is that successfully producing the game Limit Theory will be the ultimate proof of the philosophy with the same name. Over the next year-and-some, I intend to complete that proof and show you all that my philosophy is valid, at least with respect to this application!

And there you have it, just thought I'd let you all know that the name is actually a lot richer than your average "select a handful of sci-fi-ish words" space game title!

So...do you believe in the theory of nonexistence of extrinsic limitation? If so, maybe you should stop reading this, and go achieve your dreams!

This was part of what made me so excited about this, I was so excited that I decided I couldn't wait until the beta
I'm on a mac, so we will see how that turns out, perhaps WINE or something like it
If the pre-release doesn't work, I'm fine with it, because I know it's going towards something awesome (as in the original meaning of the word).

JoshParnell wrote:Awesome, glad you liked it and that you're working on your own dream!

'Twas straight from the heart.

Yes and that's the part that I really found awesome!
It's so great to talk from heart to heat like that. Really awesome you dare to open up like that
(btw, I'm also reaching my goals/dreams ^^ )

The response I wrote on KS:

"This is an AWESOME update Josh.

Not only is it a great theory (which reminds me of the book Anathem and other theories about how you are limiting yourself from psychology and things like New Age (What the Bleep do we know...), NLP etc).
Not only is it a great background for the game.
But you also chose to make it personal and tell us your personal philosophy!
And that's awesome. You open up to us and dare to share this personal 'key' with us and for that I thank you a lot

I call it a key since for me it is a tool that unlocks a part of the universe (either through action or through knowledge/awareness).

I'd love to discuss limit theory and the more complicated stuff with you someday
I'll share one of my 'keys' too: Everything is true.
Since every thought for you is at that moment active in your brain and you work with it it has significance. Since EVERYTHING is in your brain in order for you to understand, everything in your brain is of that same basic principle. If we ignore bias/prejudice and the subjected weighing or evaluation of these things we can therefore say that everything is true. Case in point: we can only disprove stuff from the past. As a thought is active it is truth.
Futhermore, on a different level, it is a fun paradoxal mind puzzle to get your head around everything being true, and just that exercise alone (without any concern for validity) has brought me higher awareness of stuff.

I had been thinking about it before, but I thought you would like to know that Limit Theory (the theory) is what finally convinced me to take up the violin. It's the first philosophy I've 100% agreed with. Onward and Upward!

Hexadeximal wrote:I had been thinking about it before, but I thought you would like to know that Limit Theory (the theory) is what finally convinced me to take up the violin. It's the first philosophy I've 100% agreed with. Onward and Upward!

This makes me so incredibly happy to hear!! Best of luck with your lessons

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” ~ Henry Ford

The Limit Theory has also impacted me Josh... In a big way. I won't get into details because these experiences lose their power when you turn them into words instead of actions. I'm someone that has been living off his own dreams for too long, never achieving any because "it's not the time yet" or "I don't have the tools". This time I don't want to talk about those dreams... I want to make them real.

Suffice to say I'll be working on something big, and a lot of the inspiration comes from this philosophy I see very few people employ, which you demonstrate so well.

When it materializes I'll make sure to give credit where it is due. In the meanwhile, I'll stick around these forums as they give me a great deal of inspiration (so does my LT wallpaper).

Steel Neuron wrote:The Limit Theory has also impacted me Josh... In a big way. I won't get into details because these experiences lose their power when you turn them into words instead of actions. I'm someone that has been living off his own dreams for too long, never achieving any because "it's not the time yet" or "I don't have the tools". This time I don't want to talk about those dreams... I want to make them real.

Suffice to say I'll be working on something big, and a lot of the inspiration comes from this philosophy I see very few people employ, which you demonstrate so well.

When it materializes I'll make sure to give credit where it is due. In the meanwhile, I'll stick around these forums as they give me a great deal of inspiration (so does my LT wallpaper).

Thanks!

It's just wonderful to hear this type of thing, thanks for sharing and best of luck with whatever you're diving in to!! I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we're routing for you

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” ~ Henry Ford